Compact thermochemical storage for residential heating systems using green electricity

o reduce CO2 emissions and take full advantage of cheap, green and renewable electricity, we will further develop SUNTHERM SmartHeat, an intelligent residential heating system, by developing a new heat battery based on thermochemical storage. With the high energy density that thermochemical storage allows, the heating system can play an essential role in relation to our overall energy system, in terms of shifting electricity consumption to off-peak periods and thus reducing the load on our electricity grid. SmartHeat is a new type of heating system targeted to replace oil furnaces. It integrates heat pump, heat battery and is controlled centrally by an intelligent cloud platform.

The new type of heat battery we want to develop works with the absorption/desorption of ammonia from salts, giving heat storage density 40 times larger than water and 10 times larger than the best phase change materials (PCM). We want to develop a cost-effective heat battery optimized explicitly for decentralised heat storage in private homes which can be combined with heat pump outdoor unit.

The objective is to design, build and test a prototype of a thermochemical heat battery.